School desk unit



Nov. 22, 1938. E J SANTEE 2,137,509 I SCHOOL DESK UNIT Filed March 12,1936 4 Sheets-Sheet l I /s" I {2g '2' l 4 faalwdJl/ri BY fl 5% irmeusvNov. 22, 1938. E. J. SANTEE SCHOOL DESK UNIT Filed March 12, 1936 I 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 22, 1938. E. J; SANTEE 2,137,509

SCHOOL DESK UNIT Filed March 12, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Imewroz 26 I[ow/m1 JI/vras BY %Z% Nov. 22, 1938. SANTEE 2,137,509

SCHOOL DESK UNIT Filed March 12, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 22,1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SCHOOL DESK UNIT Edwin J. Santee, St.Louis, Mo. 7 Application March 12, 1936, Serial No. 68,455

8 Claims.

This invention relates to desk units of the type employed in schoolrooms, and having seat and desk elements mounted at the front and rearrespectively of each unit, whereby with a plurality of such unitsarranged in rows in parallel spaced relation, the seats and deskscombine to provide complete desk assemblies.

Some principal objects of the invention are: to provide a rigid foldableand rotatable desk combination having a seat in front and a desk in therear, for the use of two separate pupils, so that neither will disturbthe other in regular school work; to provide a compact foldable desk andseat combination rotatably mounted on a base, such that when the deskand seat are folded and rotated ninety degrees from regular position theintervening aisles will be widened and the 'floor will be accessible forcleaning, calisthenics, fire drills, and for other purposes; to providea compact folding desk, which while normally anchored to the floor, canbe easily removed to clean the floor, and can be stored in small space;to provide means in a desk assembly as described, for independentlyadjusting the height of the desk and seat elements; to provide in a deskunit as described, the same including a foldable seat hinged relativelyclose to the vertical axis of the unit, auxiliary supporting means forthe seat when lowered for use; to provide in a desk unit of the kinddescribed, a compact and collapsible receptacle for storing books andother articles and retaining them therein even during the handling,folding or turning of the desk; to provide in a rotatable desk unit asreferred to, means operable thru the lowering of the seat, forautomatically locking the unit in either of four positions to facefront, sides or rear of the room, thus preventing rotation of the deskwhen the seat is occupied; to provide a desk unit of the kind referredto embodying a pedestal, supporting members rotatably mounted on thepedestal, desk, seat and receptacle elements collapsibly or foldablymounted on the supporting members, means for releasably locking thesupporting members and attachments at certain predetermined points ofrotation relative to the pedestal, and independent means for separatelyadjusting the desk and seat elements vertically to meet the requirementsof various pupils;

to provide a desk unit rotatably mounted on a pedestal and includingdesk, seat and receptacle elements which may be opened out for use asrequired and adjusted vertically for such use, or which may be folded orcollapsed closely towards the vertical axis of the pedestal forproviding in opened positions ready for use and, in broken 10 lines,these parts in their folded positions.

Figure 2 is a frontal elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross section thru thelower portion of the desk 15" unit, taken along the line 33 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the upper portion or superstructure ofthe desk unit, the pedestal and mounting sleeve being omitted.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the pedestal and 20 base alone.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the mounting sleeve alone.

Figure '7 is a fragmental, enlarged, vertical cross section thru thepedestal and mounting 25 sleeve, showing a modified form of lock for thesleeve.

Figure 8 is a fragmental frontal elevation of the mounting sleeve asequipped for the lock structure shown in Figure '7. 30

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the upper portion of a desk unit showinga modified form of desk board mounting.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 9. 35

Figure 11 is an enlarged vertical cross section through a lateralportion of the desk board and showing the upper portion of one of theguide channels, the view being taken along the line lI--ll in Figure 10.40

Figure 12 is a fragmental perspective view of one corner of the deskboard showing the stop lug extended therefrom.

Figure 13 is a side elevation of the upper end of one of the guidechannels, showing the mount- 45 with the desk board mounting shown inFigures 9 and 10.

Figure 16 is a fragmental, vertical cross section through the frontalsides of the pedestal and mounting sleeve illustrating still anotherembodiment of the lock for the sleeve.

In carrying out this invention I provide a hollow mounting pedestal orpost I, wholly or partially tapered, and resembling generally a frustumof a cone, the same being open at its upper end but closed at its lowerend as shown at 2, and there being a bolt hole 3 pierced thru thisclosed end. This pedestal is preferably formed with a flared andelliptical base 4 formed with an annular shoulder 5 immediately adjacentthe pedestal. The pedestal and base are locked rigidly to the floor 6 bymeans of a floor plate I sunk in the floor and secured byscrews- 8. Thefloor plate is formed with a tapped bore 9 for engaging a threaded boltI B which is passeddown thru the bolt hole 3 of the closed lower end ofthe pedestaland into the said floor plate.

Four lock slots I I are cut vertically down thru the upper margin of thepedestal and spaced angularly apart ninety degrees therearound, and fourshallow recesses, sockets or pockets I? with gradient ends I3 are formedin the annular shoulders 5 and spaced also ninety degrees apart.

A complemental mounting sleeve I4 is freely and rotatably seated overthe pedestal I, the body portion thereof also resembling the frustum ofa cone similar to the pedestal and beingjust enough larger than thepedestal to snugly yet freely seat thereover and to frictionally lockthereto when lowered thereupon, owing to the tapered fit or conicalseating faces of these elements. The lower annular margin of this sleeveis formed with lock cams, seating lugs or projections IS with gradientends I6, these lugs or cams being spaced and adapted nicely to fit orseat into the recesses or sockets I2 of the shoulder 5. The pedestal Iandsleeve I4 are so formed and related that with the sleeve fullylowered upon the pedestal with their meeting faces frictionallyinterlocked, and the lock-cams I5 seated within the recesses I2, thebottoms of the cams will not quite touch or contact the bottoms of therecesses. By this arrangement though these elements are rigidlyinterlocked, the meeting gradient ends I3 and I6 of sockets and lugsenable a relatively slight torque applied to the sleeve I4, even thoughweighted with a desk, to slightly raise the sleeve and free it, so thatit may easily be rotated ninety degrees to any other desired angularposition and realignment of cams and recesses. extended upward asshownat I! and a guide rib I8 is longitudinally extended from top to bottomat the rear and outer side of the sleeve for a purpose to be explained.On the inner face of the sleeve I4 opposite the rib I8 and immediatelyabove the upper edge of the pedestal I, as these elements standassembled, a pair of laterally spaced hinge lugs I9 are formed andextended inwardly from the wall of the sleeve, and diametricallyopposite these lugs a lock slot is cut vertically down thru the marginof the sleeve and adapted to register with either of the slots II of thepedestal upon the rotation of the sleeve thereon.

' A latch bar 2| is pivotally pinned at 22- between the lugs I9, and itsfree end is extended outward and shaped to freely'slide down intotheslot 20 andeither of the slots II that may be aligned therewith, asrepresented at 23, thus lock- The rear portion of the sleeve I4'is' ingthe sleeve I4 against rotation upon the pedestal I until the said latchbar is again raised.

A T-shaped desk support 25 has its vertical leg 26 grooved outlongitudinally along its inner face as shown at 21 to slidably receivethe rib I8 of the sleeve, the leg 26 being pierced thru its outer facewith a plurality of longitudinally spaced bolt holes 28 thru which bolts29 may be passed into tapped sockets 30 formed in the rib I8, wherebythe entire support 25 and of course the desk: to be described as mountedthereon, may be adjusted vertically to meet the requirements of variouspupils.

The laterally extended arms 32 of the support 25 are provided at theirends with flattened and vertically extended anchor lugs 33, to which aresecured the seat and desk supporting brackets 34' by means of bolts 35passed thru the lugs 33 and the said brackets. The brackets 34 areU-sh'aped at their lower portions and include the lower and horizontallyextended seat supports 36 and the vertically extended back and desksupports 31', the latter being provided at their lower portions with theinwardly extended seat stop lugs 38. Seat bars 39 are hinged or pivotedat points adjacent their rear ends to the free extremities of thebrackets 34 in any conventional manner, as by the ball and socket joints4G, and these supports are provided with rearwardly extended arms 4Iarranged to span the U-shaped lower portions of the brackets 34 andimpinge the under sides of the stops 38 as the bars 39 are turneddownward, thus supporting these seat bars in their normal horizontalposition. Owing to the bars 39 being hinged closely adjacent their rearends, the additional bracing afforded by the arms 4I against the stops38, is very desirable. At the same time this close hinging enables acorrespondingly close verticalfolding up of the bars to the verticalaxis of the unit that strongly contributes to( economy of space andcompactness. A seat board 42 is extended across and secured to the seatbars 39 in the usual manner. It will be noted that in the operation ofraising the seat 42, the rear margin thereof will turn down into theclearance spaces provided by the U-like formation of the lower portionsof the brackets 34. A pair of hinge lugs 45 are secured as shown at 46medially and in spaced relation to the under side of the seat board, anda lock lever 47 has its upper end pivotally pinned as shown at 48between these lugs. The lower end of this lever is pierced with aplurality of longitudinally spaced adjustment' holes 49, thru anyselected one of which a short bolt 50 may be passed and screwed into atapped socket 5I' formed in the outer extended end of the latch bar 2|.Thus as the seat 42 is lowered for use the lever 41 pushes the latch bar2| down into the slot 20 of the sleeve I4 and also into either of theslots II that may be aligned therewith, thereby locking the assembly ina fixed position against rotation. As the seat is raised however theelements 4'! and 2| are raised and folded rearwardly towards thevertical axis of the pedestal I, as shown in Figure 1 in dotted lines.In lieu of the described locking device, laterally spaced ears 53 may beextended from the outer frontal face of the sleeve I4, one at eitherside of the slot 20, and a cam 54 then pivoted thru an inner uppercorner between these ears, as shown at 55. The cam 54' is adapted andformed to swing down into the aligned slots 20 and II. The lower end ofthe lever 41 is then pivoted by means of a bolt 50a to the outer uppercorner of this cam, after which the vertical movement of the lever 4!operates the cam for looking or unlocking the sleeve I4, to the sameeffect as the previously described devices.

A still further sleeve locking means is represented in Figures '7 and 8,where shallow grooves IIa replace the slots II and a guide tongue 56 issecured at 51 over the slot 20 and flared upwardly and out from thesleeve I4. In this arrangement the lower free end of the lever 41a istapered oif as shown and reciprocates freely vertically, and as the slot20 and one of the grooves II a are moved into alignment and the seatboard 42 is lowered, the lower free end of this lever will slide thruthe slot 20 into the aligned groove I la of the pedestalI, thuseffectually locking the elements until the seat is again raised. In theoperation of this seat, as same is lowered the arms 4| impinge the stops38, thereby affording thru the long leverage provided a very stable anddurable support and which may be in addition to other or conventionalseat supports or stops, one of which is represented at 59 in Figure 3.

A seat back 60 is secured as shown at 6| by screws or other conventionalmeans to the frontal faces of the supports 3'1. A desk supporting bar orhanger board 52 is extended horizontally between the upper ends of thesupports 31 and at the rear thereof, being bolted thereto by the bolts63- which are screwed into transversely aligned and tapped sockets 64formed in these supports. A series of these sockets 64 being provided atthe upper ends of the supports, a ready means is provided for verticallyadjusting the height of the hanger bar 62, as also the desk mounted uponthis board and to be later described, so as to meet the requirements ofvarious pupils. A desk box or case, comprising a horizontally extendedtop board 65, side boards 61 and a horizontal brace or drop bard 68, allconventionally fastened together, is secured to and suspended from thehanger bar 62 which subtends the space between top board and drop board,and is dropped down or spaced somewhat below the top edge of the hangerbar. This desk unit is fastened to the hanger bar 62 by means of screws69 passed thru the bar 62 into the upper portions of the desk case. Areceptacle I rectangular in cross section and preferably made of lightsheet metal is fitted freely within the space between the side boards 6!and below the brace or drop board 68, and the lower, outer corners ofthe side boards 61. By this arrangement the receptacle may be pulled outat its upper portion for use, or may be closed in between the sideboards out of the way when not in use. Stops IIa limit the outwardmovement of the receptacle It.

If the hanger bar 62 be of wood, then metal supporting straps I2 arescrewed as shown at I3 to the ends thereof, and elongated strap metalhangers I4, having short, turned ends 14a, are pivotally pinned to theupper ends of the straps I2 by means of rivets I passed thru the freeextremities of the short ends and thru the straps 72, the said shortends 14a being turned upward. A rectangular desk board I6 is secured byscrews 1! between the long arms of the hangers l4.

Owing to the drop of the desk board I6 below the upper margin of thehanger bar 62, it results that in the process of raising .and turning upthe rear or free portion of this board, the same is automatically drawnaway from the hanger bar 62, owing to the offset hinged connection ofthe desk board to the hanger bar. For this reason pupils. Or if desired,an elongated'recess or cutout l9 may be formed thru the forward marginof the top board 65, contiguous the hanger bar 62, and the pencils willthen fall down thru this recess and come to rest upon the inner dropboard 68, as represented in Figure 14. This feature greatly facilitatesthe work of the janitor and prevents loss of the pencils or the like.Moreover, owing to this same offset manner of pivotally or hingedlymounting the desk board below the top of the hanger bar, the desk-boardmay be swung up and over forwardly of the back 69 of the seat 42, andwhen this seat is turned up vertically,'then over forwardly of the seatitself, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1. Thus the elements ofthe unit may be folded together in a very compact manner.

It will be seen that in the assembly described I have provided a verycompact, convenient and efllcient form of rotatable and collapsible orfoldable desk unit, well adapted to carry out the purposes contemplated,to-wit: a rotatable and foldable desk unit, having seat, desk andreceptacle elements adapted when not in use to be turned or foldedcompactly out of the way towards the vertical axis of the pedestalwhereon the unit is carried, and having locking means automaticallyoperated by the lowering of the seat to hold the unit in any selectedrelative position desired. The elements of the unit are of course to bemade of materials best suited for the purpose, as cast metal, sheetmetal or wood, and as will readily ocour to an experienced workman. Witha plurality of these units arranged conventionally in rows and properlyspaced apart, they may be turned to either side so as to faceblackboards on the side walls, or in that position the seats, deskboards and receptacles may be collapsed out of the way of the janitor inhis work of cleaning, or for any other purpose. Moreover these deskunits are very conveniently adapted for moving and storage.

In Figures 9 thru 12, is illustrated a modified manner of collapsiblymounting the desk board. Here a pair of channel irons 88, formingguides, are mounted with their channels turned inwardly between the seatback 69 and the hanger bar 62, being positioned inside of and secured tothe back supports 31 by means of screws 8|. The upper ends of the sidewebs of these bars are cut away as shown at 82 to provide clearances forthe operation of the desk board I6. Elongated adjustment slots 83 andbolt holes 84 are formed thru the upper ends of the medial webs of thechannel irons. Adjustment slides 85, slotted as shown at 86 and havingthe turned extremities. 85a, are mounted outwardly over the aperturedupper ends of the medial webs of the channel irons. For this mountingthe extremities 85a of the slides are slidably inserted thru the slots83 of the channel irons and bolts 8'! are rigidly set in the holes 84with their threaded ends projecting out thru the slots 86 of the slidesand thumb nuts 88 are mounted on these threaded ends. Stop lugs 89 areseated in the lateral edges of the desk board I6, close to the forwardmargin thereof, and these lugs are formed and arranged to slide withinthe channels of the irons 80, below the inturned extremities 85a of theslides, these inturned extremities thus acting as stops for the lugs 89in the operation of the desk board. By merely raising the free rearportion of the board 16 to vertical position, this board may then be 1freely dropped or slid down in the space between the seat back andhanger bar, entirely out of the way. When pulled up for use and turneddown horizontally, the desk board fulcrums upon the top of the desk caseand the lugs 89' bear up against the stops or extremities 85a of theslides 85. By adjusting these slides up or down and then turning up thethumb nuts, it is obvious that the slope of the desk board may beincreased or reduced, as may be desired.

In use, these desk units may as heretofore set out, be turned and willautomatically seat themselves in any one of four selected positions asprovided for by the recesses or sockets and the cams of the pedestal andsupporting sleeve, or may be automatically locked in any such positionthru the lowering of the seat, and the seats and desk boards may beseparately adjusted in height, or may be unitarily so adjusted to meetrequirements of different pupils. Other advantages have also alreadybeen pointed out. While I have herein recited and shown certainpreferred assemblies and structural features of the invention, it isunderstood that I may vary any of said features in minor details as maybe found desirable, not departing from the spirit of the invention, asdefined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a rotatable desk unit, a pedestal conformed as a frustum of a coneand having spaced slots formed therearound, a complementally formedsleeve rotatably seated upon the pedestal and adapted by reason of themutually tapered fit to grip same when lowered thereon, the sleevehaving a slot adapted upon rotation of the sleeve to register witheither one of the slots of the pedestal, a support extended upwardlyfrom the sleeve, a seat hinged to the support and arranged for turningdown horizontally over the pedestal or vertically up thereover, andmeans carried by the assembly co-operating with the slots of pedestaland sleeve and operable thru the lowering of the seat for automaticallylocking the sleeve against rotation upon the: pedestal, in a selectedposition of rotation, as determined by the selected pedestal slot andits alignment with the slot of the sleeve, the raising of the seat inturn serving to unlock the elements.

2. In a rotatable desk assembly, a round and tapered post having slotsspaced therearound in circumferential alignment, a complemental sleeverotatably seated over the post and adapted by reason of the tapered fitto grip same when lowered thereon, a support extended upwardly from thesleeve, a seat hinged to the support for lowering or raising over thepost, and means carried by the assembly and operable by lowering orraising the seat, for automatically locking or unlocking the sleeveagainst rotation or freeing it for such rotation.

3. In a rotatable desk assembly, a round and tapered post having slotsspaced therearound in circumferential alignment, a complementally roundand tapered sleeve rotatably seated upon the post and adapted by reasonof the tapered fit to grip same when lowered thereon, a support extendedupwardly from the sleeve, a seat hinged to the support and arranged forlowering or raising over the post, means co-operating with the saidslots of the post and operable by lowering or raising. the seat, forautomatically locking the sleeve against rotation or unlocking it forsuch rotation.

4. In a desk combination in which the front to rear dimension is reducedby collapsing the desk top and seat in a vertical manner, a pedestalsupport-for the assembly, the same comprising a base member, a conicalpost mounted on the base member, a complemental conical sleeve rotatablymounted over the post and arranged to friction ally grip same throughgravity when fully'lowered thereon, means operable through torqueapplied to the sleeve for raising the sleeve for rotation on the post,and means auxiliary to the friction grip of the sleeve upon the post forreleasably locking the sleeve to the post in certain selected positionsof rotation, said latter means being operable through the lowering ofthe seat.

5. In a desk combination, a pedestal removably anchorable to the floor,a sleeve rotatably mounted on the pedestal, the sleeve having anupwardly extended portion at its rear side, and there being a guide ribformed longitudinally on the outer face of the sleeve and extension atthe rear side thereof, a T-shaped desk support having its vertical leggrooved out for slidably engaging the guide ribof the sleeve, means foradjustably locking the T-shaped desk support in any adjusted position, avertically foldable seat supported forwardly on the sleeve, andmechanism operable through lowering the seat for locking the sleeve ineither of a series of angular positions relative to the pedestal.

6. In a desk combination, a pedestal removably anchorable to the floor,a sleeve rotatably mounted on the pedestal, the sleeve having anupwardly extended portion, there being a guide rib formed longitudinallyon the sleeve and extension, a T- shaped desk support having itsvertical leg grooved out for slidably engaging the guide rib of thesleeve, means for anchoring the T-shaped desk support in any of a seriesof adjusted positions on the sleeve.

7. In a desk combination, a pedestal removably anchorable to the floor,a sleeve rotatably mounted on the pedestal, the sleevehaving an upwardlyextended portion, there being a guide rib formed longitudinally on thesleeve and extension, a T- shaped desk support having its vertical leggrooved out for slidably engaging the guide rib of the sleeve, means foranchoring the T-shaped desk support in any of a series of adjustedpositions on the sleeve, and mechanism for locking the sleeve againstrotation in either of a series of angular positions relative to thepedestal.

8 In a desk combination in which the front to rear dimension is reducedby collapsing the desk top and seat in a vertical manner, a pedestalsupport for the assembly, the same comprising a base member, a conicalpost mounted on the base member, a complemental conical sleeve rotatablymounted over the post and arranged to frictionally grip the same throughgravity when fully lowered thereon, there being an upwardly extendedportion at the rear side of the sleeve, a T- shaped desk support havingits vertical leg mounted on the sleeve and extended portion, meansoperable through torque applied to the sleeve by the T-shaped desksupport as a lever, for raising the sleeve for rotation on. the post,and means auxiliary to the friction grip of the sleeve upon the post forreleasably locking the sleeve in certain selected positions of rotationon the post.

EDWIN J. SAN'I'EE.

